


Return to Battle

by Mertiya



Series: Story Circle [35]
Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: I thought you were dead, Multi, Reunions, probably an au, tokens of affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-24 01:05:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18560794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mertiya/pseuds/Mertiya
Summary: Jace and Ral reunite.  Things get a bit awkward.





	Return to Battle

**Author's Note:**

> We all knew this was inevitable and I figured I'd throw this version out before it got jossed tomorrow.

“I thought you were _dead_!”

            Jace winced, putting a hand on his jaw. Ral had a mean right hook. He looked up from the ground. “I—think I might owe you an apology.”

            “You _think_?” Ral knelt in front of him, dropping his hands onto Jace’s shoulders and bending over, pressing their foreheads together. “I heard what happened on Amonkhet, and your aether trail _disappeared_. And you fucking—”

            Jace pulled him closer, breathing in the smell of ozone and lightning. “I know,” he said softly, feeling the faint trembling of Ral’s arms. “I’m so sorry.”

            “I literally mourned you, asshole,” Ral said into his hair. “If I’d had time between trying to fake Niv Mizzet’s death and putting together a project for Nicol Bolas, I might’ve actually done the full Tanit ritual thing and shit.”

            Jace pressed his face into Ral’s shirt. He just needed a minute. They could go back to saving Ravnica once he’d had just a minute to process that Ral was still here and all right. That he’d survived the past year, somehow, and that Jace could hold him again. “Ral, I…” His hands slipped into Ral’s hair, feeling the matted sweat and the little tremors still running through his back. “I missed you.”

            “You, too,” Ral whispered.

            Someone cleared their throat awkwardly, and Jace looked up to see a young man with reddish hair that he vaguely recognized but couldn’t place. Ral leaned back on his heels with a peculiar expression on his face. “Ah. Um. Tomik, this—is Jace Beleren. Jace, this is Tomik Vrona. Ah. My—” Ral held up a wrist, with a band of white cloth wrapped around it. Tomik was wearing a matching red band that Jace recognized; he’d had one that had been lost somewhere on Ixalan.

            “Oh,” said Jace.

            “Thought you were dead,” Ral mumbled. He looked helplessly up at Tomik, who, somewhat to Jace’s surprise, straightened slightly and held out a hand.

            “I believe we met once during an Orzhov negotation, Living Guildpact.”

            “Um,” said Jace. “Hi?”

            Ral groaned and put his face into his hands. Tomik ruffled his hair affectionately. “It does happen sometimes in wars, you know,” he said mildly. “I can look up the precedents later.” Then he fixed Jace with a glare. “Although you hurt Ral quite a bit.”

            Jace wilted. “I know,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”

            The Orzhov mage wilted a little as well, sinking to his knees beside the other two. “Well. I can’t really claim not to have worried Ral either,” he said softly.

            “I hate you both,” Ral mumbled, reaching out and taking Jace’s hand and then Tomik’s. He kissed Tomik on the cheek and then ruffled Jace’s hair, like Tomik had ruffled his. “I have no idea how to handle this situation.”

            “I haven’t had any idea how to handle a situation since I got my memories back,” Jace said tiredly.

            “It’s a little outside my wheelhouse, admittedly,” Tomik agreed as well.

            “Yeah, well.” Ral ran a hand through his hair. “I really need to do something about the fact that my parun is dead. Temporarily.”

            “That one is _not_ outside my wheelhouse,” Tomik said.

            “Let’s just. Go figure out how to pull off his ridiculous plan to save Ravnica, and I guess I have two boyfriends now,” Ral said, in the particular vague voice he usually reserved for not having slept in four nights. Jace wondered if the sheer exhaustion was actually from lack of sleep or from something worse, but—well, maybe there would be time to deal with the latest shocking revelations once the plane was saved. He needed to rendezvous with Vraska as well.

            Cautiously, he gave Ral a hug and found that Tomik was doing the same thing. Well—at least they both had their priorities straight. They could work this out. Once Ravnica was safe, anyway.

 


End file.
